Website Privacy Policy

Allergenix, PC ("Allergenix," "we," "us," or "our") is Iowa's only Direct Specialty Care Allergy & Immunology practice, located in West Des Moines, Iowa. This Website Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through our website, www.allergenix.com, and through the online forms, booking tools, text messages, emails, and online advertising connected to it. It also explains how we use that information, who we share it with, how we protect it, and the choices you have.

We wrote this policy in plain language on purpose. If anything here is unclear, call us at 515-644-8448 and we will walk you through it.

1. What This Policy Covers

This policy applies to information collected through our website and the online tools connected to it, including contact forms, appointment requests, online scheduling, email and text communications, and our online advertising. It also applies to information you share with us at community events, such as when you sign up at our booth for more information.

Your Website Information vs. Your Medical Record

Once you schedule care with us or become a patient, the health information in your medical record is handled under our Notice of Privacy Practices, which you receive and sign at your first visit. We protect that information to HIPAA standards. If this Website Privacy Policy and our Notice of Privacy Practices ever say different things about your medical information, the Notice of Privacy Practices controls.

This Website Privacy Policy covers everything else, including your website visits, general questions you send us, newsletter sign-ups, and our marketing.

2. Information We Collect

Information You Give Us

• Contact and inquiry forms. Your name, email address, phone number, preferred way to be contacted, and your message.
• Appointment requests and online scheduling. Your name, date of birth, contact information, the general reason for your visit, and how you heard about us.
• Patient intake and our patient portal. Your health history, symptoms, medications, allergies, prior testing and treatment, emergency contacts, and parent or guardian information for minors. If you ask us to help with prior authorizations or reimbursement paperwork, this may include insurance information. This information is collected through our secure electronic health record and patient portal, not through our general website forms.
• Payment information. Payments are handled by our payment processor. We do not store full credit or debit card numbers on our website.
• Patient financing. If you apply for patient financing, you apply directly with the financing company, and its own privacy policy applies to your application. We receive only what we need to complete your payment, such as approval status and approved amount.
• Newsletters, events, and surveys. Your name and contact information, plus any answers you choose to give.
• Reviews and testimonials. We only publish a patient story, quote, photo, or video with your written permission.
• Your communications with us. Records of calls, emails, text messages, and portal messages.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, some information is collected automatically through cookies, pixels, and similar tools (see Section 4). This may include:

• Your IP address and approximate location (city or state level) based on that IP address
• Browser type, device type, and operating system
• Pages you view, how long you stay, links you click, and the website or ad that brought you to us

Information From Others

• Referring clinicians and partner organizations, such as physicians, employer health programs, and care navigation platforms, when they refer you to us.
• Advertising and social media platforms. We receive summary reports about how our ads perform. If you fill out a form inside an ad on a social media platform, that platform passes along the information you entered.
• Laboratories and other providers involved in your care, as described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.

3. How We Use Information

• To answer your questions and respond to your requests
• To schedule, confirm, and remind you about appointments, including telehealth visits
• To provide and coordinate your care
• To process payments and financing you request
• To send educational content and practice news if you signed up for it (you can unsubscribe at any time)
• To understand how people use our website so we can make it better
• To measure whether our advertising is working, using summary information
• To keep our website and systems secure, prevent fraud, and meet our legal obligations

What we do not do: We do not use the health information you give us to target you with advertising, and we do not sell it.

4. Cookies, Pixels, and Online Tracking

Cookies are small files saved on your device. Pixels and tags are small pieces of code on a web page. Together they help a website remember your settings, understand how it is being used, and measure advertising. We use three kinds:

• Necessary tools that make the website work, such as keeping forms secure and loading pages correctly.
• Analytics tools that show us, in summary form, which pages are visited and how people move through the site. We use Google Analytics, and we use Google Tag Manager to manage these tools on our site.
• Advertising tools that help us measure whether our ads lead people to our website and help us show ads to people who may be interested in our services. We use the Meta (Facebook) Pixel and Google Ads.

Our Rules for Online Tracking

Because we are a medical practice, we hold ourselves to stricter rules than most websites:

• We do not place third-party analytics or advertising tools on our patient portal, online scheduling pages, intake forms, payment pages, or any page where you log in or enter health information.
• We do not send what you type into our forms, including your name, email address, phone number, date of birth, symptoms, or reasons for a visit, to advertising or analytics companies. When you submit our contact form, the advertising platforms are told only that a form was submitted and which ad or campaign brought you to our site. What you type goes only to our own systems.
• On our general information pages, advertising and analytics companies may receive the address of the page you are viewing, your IP address, and device information. Some of our general pages describe allergy conditions and treatments. We do not link this activity to your name or your medical record.

Your Choices About Cookies and Ads

• Set your browser to block or delete cookies. Some parts of the site may not work as well.
• Adjust your ad settings with Google (adssettings.google.com) and Meta (in your Facebook or Instagram Ad Preferences).
• Opt out of Google Analytics using Google's browser add-on (tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout).
• Use industry opt-out tools at optout.aboutads.info and optout.networkadvertising.org.

Some browsers send "Do Not Track" signals. Because there is no common standard for how websites should respond to these signals, our website does not currently respond to them. Your cookie choices above still apply.

5. How We Share Information

We share information only as described below.

• Service providers who work for us under contract. These include companies that provide our electronic health record and scheduling, our customer relationship management platform (GoHighLevel), payment processing, secure messaging and patient communications, email and text messaging, IT support, cloud storage, website hosting, and marketing services. They may use your information only to do work for us. Any service provider that handles patient health information must sign a business associate agreement or agree to equivalent confidentiality and security terms.
• Clinicians, laboratories, and pharmacies involved in your care, as described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.
• Referral partners. If a partner referred you to us, we may let them know you were seen, or share more only as you authorize or as our Notice of Privacy Practices allows.
• Financing companies, only when you ask to use financing and only what is needed.
• Legal and safety reasons. When required by law, court order, or subpoena, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our patients, our staff, or others.
• Business changes. If our practice is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, information may transfer as part of that transaction. It will remain protected by this policy and by law.
• With your permission. In any other case, we will ask you first.

We do not sell your personal information, and we never sell or share health information you give us for advertising purposes.

6. Text Messages and Email

Text Messages

If you give us your mobile number and agree to receive texts, we may send appointment reminders, scheduling and billing messages, care-related follow-ups, and, only if you separately agree, occasional practice news and offers. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any message to stop receiving texts. For help, call us at 515-644-8448. Agreeing to marketing texts is never a condition of receiving care.

We do not share your mobile number or your consent to receive text messages with any third party or affiliate for their own marketing purposes. Text messaging opt-in information is not shared with anyone except the service providers that help us deliver our messages.

Email

Every marketing email we send includes an unsubscribe link. Even if you unsubscribe from marketing, we may still send messages about your appointments, account, or care.

A Note About Security

Standard email and text messages are not fully secure. If you ask us to communicate with you this way, there is some risk that a message could be read by someone else. Please do not send detailed medical information through our general contact form, regular email, or social media messages. Use our secure patient portal or call us at 515-644-8448 instead.

7. Your Privacy Rights

Rights Everyone Has With Us

No matter where you live, you can ask us to:

• Tell you what personal information we have collected about you through our website and marketing
• Correct information that is wrong
• Delete information you gave us through the website, unless we need to keep it for your care, for legal reasons, or for our records
• Stop sending you marketing emails or texts

Your rights regarding your medical record, such as getting a copy, requesting a correction, or asking who your information has been shared with, are explained in our Notice of Privacy Practices.

Additional State Rights

Depending on where you live, state law may give you additional rights. These can include the right to confirm whether we process your personal data, to get a copy in a portable format, to opt out of targeted advertising or the sale of personal data, and to appeal a decision we make about your request. We honor these rights as the law requires.

How to Make a Request

• Email: info@allergenix.com
• Phone: 515-644-8448
• Mail: Privacy Officer, Allergenix, PC, 595 S. 60th St., Suite 160, West Des Moines, IA 50266

We will need to confirm your identity before we act on a request, so we may ask you for information we already have on file. You may also have an authorized agent make a request for you with your written permission. We will respond within the time the law requires, generally within 45 days.

If we turn down your request, we will explain why. You may appeal by replying to our decision with the word "Appeal." We will respond to your appeal within 60 days. If you still disagree, you may contact your state's Attorney General.

We will never treat you differently, charge you more, or provide a lower level of care because you exercised a privacy right.

8. Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy

This section applies to residents of Washington, Nevada, and other states with consumer health data laws. It covers health-related information that is not already part of your medical record, such as information collected on our general website pages. Information in your medical record is covered by our Notice of Privacy Practices instead.

What Consumer Health Data We Collect

• Symptoms, conditions, or health concerns you mention when you contact us or request an appointment
• Information that suggests you may be looking for allergy care, such as viewing pages about allergy testing or treatment, or requesting an appointment
• Conclusions that could be drawn from that information about your health

Where It Comes From

From you, from your device through the cookies and similar tools described in Section 4, from our analytics and advertising service providers, and from clinicians or organizations that refer you to us.

Why We Collect and Use It

To respond to you, schedule visits, and provide the services you ask for; to measure and improve our website and advertising, with your consent where the law requires it; and to keep our systems secure.

Who We Share It With

Service providers that process it on our behalf, such as website hosting, scheduling, communications, analytics, and advertising measurement providers, with your consent where the law requires it. We do not share consumer health data with our affiliated companies for their own purposes, and we do not sell consumer health data.

Your Rights

You may ask us to confirm whether we collect, share, or sell your consumer health data; to give you a copy of it along with a list of the third parties and service providers we have shared it with; to delete it; and to withdraw any consent you have given. Make a request using the contact information in Section 7. The same verification and appeal process applies.

9. Children's Privacy

We care for children, but our website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13. Information about pediatric patients should be provided by a parent or legal guardian. If you believe a child has sent us personal information through our website, contact us and we will delete it.

10. How We Protect Information

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information. These include encrypted connections on our website, access limited to staff who need it, secure systems for patient records, written agreements with our service providers, and staff privacy training. No website or system can be made completely secure, so we cannot promise absolute security. If a breach affecting your information occurs, we will notify you as required by law.

11. How Long We Keep Information

We keep website inquiry and marketing information only as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected, and then delete it or remove the details that identify you. Medical records are kept for the period required by Iowa law and medical board rules.

12. Links to Other Websites and Platforms

Our website may link to other websites, social media pages, partner platforms, and financing companies. We do not control those sites, and their own privacy policies apply. Please review them before sharing information.

13. Visitors Outside Iowa

We are based in the United States, and our website is intended for people in the United States. We provide in-person care in West Des Moines and telehealth visits in the states where our physician is licensed.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the "Last Updated" date at the top. If we make a significant change in how we use or share your personal information, we will post a notice on our website before the change takes effect.

15. Contact Us

If you have questions about this policy or how we handle your information, contact our Privacy Officer:

Website: www.allergenix.com